Electrical connectors are used in a variety of domestic and industrial Applications. A number of different connectors are known and these vary from application to application, a 3-pin plug and wall socket is a typical example.
There are two popular types of connector for connecting light bulbs to a socket; a thread connection and a bayonet connection. For the thread connection, the bulb thread is rotationally aligned with a thread of the socket and then screwed into the socket allowing respective electric terminals on the bulb and socket to connect.
The bayonet connection has pins which extend radially from the bulb. The pins are aligned with apertures in a circumferentially extending rim of the socket and inserted therethrough against action of a spring in the socket and so to allow respective terminals on the bulb and socket to electrically connect. The bulb is then turned so that the pins move into small recesses in the rim and are no longer aligned with the apertures. The action of the spring engages the pins with an edge of the recesses to hold the bulb in the socket and maintain the electrical connection.
Although these connectors are generally competent, they can be difficult to secure and release, particularly in out of reach places such as sockets suspended from the ceiling.
Moreover, some current light sockets are hazardous because they contain exposed live electrical contacts and are replaced in such out of reach environments when it is often dark because the light is inoperable at that moment. Inadvertent contact with exposed electrical contacts can have potentially fatal consequences.
A connector for a cordless kettle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,810 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. This connector, shown in FIGS. 1a–1c allow the connection between a male part 20 and female part 50 of the connector regardless of relative rotational orientation.